Turkish security forces have killed 13 PKK terrorists in an operation in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday.

According to the ministry, the terrorists were eliminated in the Operation Claw-Tiger area.

The Turkish military regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq. Turkey has long been stressing that it will not tolerate terrorist threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps were not taken, it would not shy away from targeting terrorist threats.

Turkey launched Operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt on April 23 in northern Iraq’s Metina and Avaşin-Basyan regions near its borders.

Furthermore, Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle began in border regions of northern Iraq in June 2020 to ensure the safety of Turkey's people and frontiers.

Numerous PKK terrorist hideouts and bases are located in northern Iraq, from where they carry out attacks on Turkey.